Life with Her Savior
by Kaze the Wind Mage
Summary: Seven months after escaping the gallery of Guertena, rose holders Ib and Garry have a chance encounter to meet again. Hopes for normality to return are shattered after the murder of Ib's parents and Garry becoming her new guardian. Wanting justice, Ib must return to the depths of the gallery with Garry to find the answers to her parents' death, even if that means fighting for it...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Memory of Paint

It had been seven and a half months since she had last seen the man who had helped her escape the gallery, a place where the artwork on the walls came to life, full of vengeful spite and hunger for blood to spill. She was alone now, once again home with her loving parents, but she had changed in the gallery. She had become more emotional and closed off than before, worrying her parents. Could anyone blame the poor nine year old girl?

There was a fateful day.

The sun was shining over the town that afternoon, the young girl was walking down the street's edge, having been asked by her mother to run down to the bakery to buy bread for dinner that night. She walked briskly towards her home, the paper bag containing the still warm bread in her hands. She passed by the small café that sat three blocks from her home and glanced through the large, glass window near the door. She paused in front of the window and let out a small, soft gasp. The man that had saved her was sitting inside, staring into his teacup at his table, obviously in thought. She knew it was him, his ripped jacket was a clear giveaway.

"...G...Garry..."

His name left her mouth quietly, and she stepped inside. The bell over the door jingled, causing the clerk to look in her direction. The man came to her from behind the counter and gave her a stern look.

"You're the little girl who was short on money last week, huh? Have you come to pay the rest of your bill?"

The girl looked up at the man and dug into the pocket of her red skirt. She only had a few extra cents with her after buying the bread for her mother. She handed them to the man and as he counted, she was hoping the man she was eager to see again would look over and see her.

"...Alright. Thanks, now get on out of here. I know this was all you had left. Scram."

The girl didn't budge. Her eyes were fixated on the man who saved her. The clerk huffed in frustration and tried to push the girl out.

"Scram!"

At this point, everyone looked up and stared.

Footsteps rapidly came up behind the clerk and hands seized his shoulders, pulling him away from the young girl.

"Sir, no worries. This young lady is with me, no need to kick her out."

The girl recognized the voice, the one that had given her direction to safety and words of comfort. The man she was eager to see again had grabbed her hand and brought her to his table, smiling a soft smile. He helped her sit in the seat across from him and he sat back down.

He saw the red rose in her long, brown hair, the base of the rose's stem adorned with a small vile of water. She was wearing the same outfit she wore the day they met in the dark depths of the gallery of Guertena's works. He remembered why he had cared for the young girl so much back then; her innocence had to be protected from the dark entities of the cold and damp gallery.

As the girl eyed the blue rose that adorned his ripped jacket, the man spoke quietly.

"It's so calming to finally see you yet again...Ib."

Ib looked up at the man, Garry, the one who protected her, and smiled genuinely for the first time since that dreadful day. She then had a thought in her head, a thought of the other who had been with them, then girl who had deceived them. She muttered softly, in a questioning voice,

"...M-Mary...?"

Garry smiled and tried his best to reassure the girl he cared for like a sister or a daughter.

"Mary isn't here, trust me. I've yet to see her since that day. We're safe, Ib."

The girl sighed in relief and began to grow comfortable again. The two talked occasionally for a little over an hour before exchanging addresses and going their separate ways for the day.

Rain covered the town the next day, perfect for the young girl with a red rose in her hair, who was hugging her knees on the front step of her home. As she mourned, two shoes fell into her eyes' view. She looked up to see the man, once again saving her. He was wearing black, just as she was, with his blue rose on the collar of his shirt and a black umbrella in hand. He extended his hand to the now parentless girl and helped her up into his embrace under the umbrella.

"I'm sorry, Ib...I know my words can't return them to you, but I hope they can at least provide some comfort...hurry along and gather your things. I'm going to bring you home with me, that's where you'll stay from now on."

Ib nodded silently and rushed to gather everything she owned. Her murdered parents still remain in the house, not yet picked up by the police. As she was about to leave, she glanced at them, Garry watching her from the front doorway as she did. She approached her mother and father, bowed her head, mumbled her final words to them, and remembering their will, she slid their wedding rings off their fingers. She opened a small box she had and set them inside. Once she finished saying her goodbyes, she took Garry's hand and walked to her new home with him underneath his umbrella...

End Chapter One

_Author's Note: Well, hopefully those of you reading like my first post to this site. I'll post the next chapter of my little Ib and Garry story soon, I promise._

_~ Kaze the Wind Mage_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Garry and the Hated Mary  


Garry swung open the front door of his small apartment and stood aside to allow the small young Ib to step inside. He was able to straighten up parts of the apartment as they walked inside and sat Ib's things down on the surprisingly tidy floor. Garry blushed in embarrassment towards the young girl and bowed his head a bit.

"S-sorry, Ib...this place isn't normally this cluttered and messy."

Ib simply smiled and cleared off the clutter of books and paperwork off the table and counters. As she cleaned, a book caught her eye from across the room on the cream colored couch against the back wall. She walked over and sat down on the couch, picking up the book and examining its cover.

It was a leather-bound book that was fairly faded on the front cover. The title was still clearly visible, "The Many Works of Guertena". Ib noticed a bookmarked page and took the liberty of opening to the marked page. She cringed at the chapter's title and picture. "The Prized Painting", it was called, with a picture of the hated painting. A long, blonde haired young girl with deep, blue eyes dressed in a dark green smock-like dress with yellow roses near her feet. Ib stared into the eyes of the fake girl, whom she knows as Mary, and felt the fire flare in the pit of her stomach.

Garry, who had been organizing papers, looked over to his beloved Ib and noticed the page she was looking at. He knew Ib had a deep hatred toward the girl who had tricked them in the gallery. He only didn't understand why the young girl sitting on his couch had such a fiery hate for the painting.

Dusting off his hands, he walked over to Ib and closed the book slowly, as to not startle the girl. As Ib looked up to the man who had promised to care for her, she saw the smile that formed over his lips. The eighteen year old Garry leaned forward and kissed the top of young Ib's head. She knew that Garry cared for her, but she didn't know much more than that of his feelings. Garry looked at the book that rested on Ib's lap and tossed it aside.

"Ib, I promise to protect you. Not just from Mary, but from any other harm that may come your way."

Ib looked into the eyes of the one who saved her yet again, and nodded. Garry smiled as best as he could, but in the back of his mind, he knew he loved the poor girl who sat before him, yet knew he could do nothing about it.

_"The age is just too far apart...who knows how much trouble I could get into?"_

He knew her birthday was approaching, but she would only be ten years old. Garry mentally shook his head and pushed the thought aside, remembering her innocence was far too precious.

"_She hasn't seen what I have..."_

Garry decided it was best to start unpacking Ib's things, so he took her bags and took them to the room he had prepared for her. Ib got up and followed behind him closely.

"Garry...? Do you ever get scared anymore...?"

Garry turned to Ib and took notice of the small tears forming in her eyes. He picked her up gently and sat her on the bed he provided for her, taking his hands and placing them gently on her small shoulders. He looked deeply into his now most precious possession's eyes and looked into them sternly.

"Of course I still get scared. Not as much as I used to be scared, but I still do. To me, the gallery strengthened me as a man, helped me to be a bit braver. If I never got lost in the depths of the gallery, I would've never gained the strength that I did, I would've never learned to be cautious of who to trust, I would've never learned what it's like to protect someone, and..."

He noticed Ib's tears had become too heavy and began to stream down her cheeks. He cupped her face in his hands and wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.

"And Ib? Without the experience of the gallery, I would've never met you and would've never had something to fight for. Do you understand? Even after we parted ways, I felt that I still had so much to protect you from, yet I knew there was a very small chance of us meeting again. Us meeting at the café was a chance encounter. God must've knew that you would need to be cared for, protected, and loved. And yet, He probably knew that I would be able to from past experience. So yes, I do get scared still, but I grew strong from the gallery, so I could use my fear and convert it to the ability to protect those that I love."

Ib had managed to calm herself down, so she could look at Garry again. When her eyes landed on his, he pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around the girl's small body.

"If you're in danger...yell my name. I'll drop everything and come rescue you, my precious red rose..."

Ib blushed slightly and clung to Garry, gripping his ripped jacket and feeling the protection he wanted to give her.

Eventually, the girl in red fell asleep in the arms of the man of blue. Garry smiled and helped her into her bed, pulling the warm blankets over her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead softly before leaving quietly and closing the door gently behind him.

On his way to his own bed, he glanced at the book that lay on the couch, holding the only bit of the maiden of the yellow rose that was left hostage among its closed pages. Garry made his way to his room, but not before muttering something under his breath.

"I know it was you, Mary...I know what you did to Ib. Because of that, I'll hate you just as much as she does, if not more. However, don't you dare touch Ib, or I'll have you set aflame yet again..."

End Chapter Two

_Author's Note: So, here is the second chapter of "Life with Her Savior". I'm hoping those who read the first chapter and this chapter are liking the story so far. Don't worry, the next chapter will be up soon enough. _

_~ Kaze the Wind Mage_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Familiar Foes

The sun shining through the window was what awoke the sleeping girl of the red rose. It was early in the morning, and as the girl sat up in her new bed, she could hear faint whispers from the living room. She heard what sounded like children whispering whispering and giggling on occasion. Ib hopped out of her bed and cracked open her door quietly to see small shadows that were shown by the help of the sun.

One shadow was larger in height amongst the others and seemed to be surrounded by the smaller shadows. Ib listened to the conversation the shadows were having from behind her door.

**"Do you all understand what to do?"**

**"Right, right."**

**"Don't kill him?"**

**"No, don't kill anyone."**

**"But where's our fun, then?"**

**"Enough. You must listen to what I instruct. Got it?"**

**"What about the girl?"**

Ib gripped the doorknob at the smaller shadows' question.

**"Hmm..."**

**"We won't kill her, we just want to play with her~! Tee-hee~!"**

**"Right, right...no. Don't touch her at all. Unless she gets in the way, then you can. But don't kill. I need her."**

There was a small rejoice at the order that the larger shadow gave. Ib had a hunch at who it was and took a chance. She opened the door and walked out to the room.

As she expected, her hunch was right.

"...Mary."

The girl who had been casting the larger shadow turned towards the red girl behind her and smirked menacingly. Around her stood nearly a dozen of the bloodthirsty dolls that had terrified Garry back at the gallery. Ib knew about the dolls' infatuation towards Garry, as he told her about it at the café while they were reminiscing. Now she understood his fear towards them; they not only acted murderous, they looked the part as well.

Every doll looked the same as the next; all with black hair that stuck it every direction, red eyes that resembled more blood stained buttons than actual doll eyes, ripped and tattered pastel-colored dresses, and horribly menacing mouths. Some dolls had mouths full of red, triangle-shaped teeth, and others had mouths that grinned, yet were sewn shut.

Ib felt uncomfortable with all of them shifting their gaze onto her, knowing their true intentions and wants to rip at her flesh, cut her mouth, bore out her eyes, or even kill her.

Mary giggled, breaking Ib's stare at the monstrous dolls.

"Young Ib, you and I have finally met again. I've been waiting ever-so-patiently to see your face again~"

Ib gave the blonde girl of the yellow rose a look of disgust and hatred. Memories of what the yellow girl had done began to surface again and enrage the red rose.

"How is this meeting even possible...we burned you to death!"

Mary's body twitched involuntarily as the yellow rose approached Ib.

"You may have burned me, but as long as my painting is in the copies of the books that contain Father's works, I will never be truly gone!"

Mary, out of craze, grabbed Ib's throat with her small, pale hand and giggled as Ib struggled to pry Mary's hand away.

"I will always live on, just to haunt you~"

Ib managed to cough out and gather enough air to yell out for her savior.

"G-Garry!"

Mary let go of the red rose's neck and watched as the girl wheezed and gasped for air, even though the air that did enter her lungs burned and expelled away. The door to Garry's room swung open and when his eyes landed on the yellow girl, he felt the newly formed hate he had towards her surface. He then noticed the dolls that began to crawl onto his loved rose and reach for the rose in her hair. Ib tried her best to protect the petals of her rose, but the lack of air she had made it extremely difficult. Garry kicked off the bulk of the dolls that drowned his love in the blackness of their hair and picked Ib up into his arms. He heard the giggle from Mary and turned towards her, holding Ib close to him.

"I knew you came from that damned book! Why must you insist on making Ib's life a living hell, Mary!?"

Garry's rage was unable to be hidden anymore, making the yellow girl laugh. She looked down around her to the dolls of Garry's nightmares and smirked.

"Do you girls remember Garry~? I know he remembers you~"

Garry felt the red button eyes on him and shivered, remember truly how creepy they were.

"Answer my question, Mary!"

Mary giggled and approached the two, making Garry take a step back.

"Because red is my favorite color, and Ib has the most red out of all of us~ Her eyes, her clothes, her rose...all the blood running through her veins~"

Garry knew Mary was a psychotic girl, but didn't think it was this bad. Mary smirked and headed toward the book that still lay on the couch.

"Come along, girls~ We best get going~"

As the dolls listened to the girl of yellow and retreated into the book's pages, Mary giggled.

"Come visit us all again, Ib~ Maybe you'll get your life back~"

With a final laugh, Mary returned into the pages of the book. Garry set Ib down and grabbed a lighter from the kitchen, and took the book. He moved the lighter to the book, but Ib ran up to him and lowered his hand. Garry looked down to Ib in confusion as she took the book.

"...We won't burn it."

Garry came up behind the one he loved most and looked at the book's cover.

"But why not? Don't you want Mary gone?"

Ib gazed at the book and gripped it harder.

"...I want to fight the problem at the source. I want answers. I want to know why. And I'm determined to find out."

Garry felt nothing but worry wash over him at the thought of Ib fighting against Mary alone. He hugged her from behind and refused to let go as she pried at his arms.

"Let me fight alongside you, then. I want to make sure you stay safe, so she doesn't play her damn games with you."

Ib remembered how Mary played with their minds, and she knew she couldn't fight against Mary on her own without risking the loss of her rose, her source of life. Ib simply nodded and knew Garry would go to extreme measures to keep her safe. She knew that she would have to protect not only herself...

But that she'd have to protect Garry, too.

End Chapter Three

_Author's Note: Thanks for all of the support on this story. I'll keep writing more until this story is up and finished. So, just hold on tight until chapter four is ready!_

_~ Kaze the Wind Mage_


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